Chapter Text
He knew regret would be the first thing he would eradicate. Then jealousy, next.
The hexcore, that cursed beautiful thing, had immense power. He could see everything, every timeline, and every possibility.
He didn’t dwell much on the terrible ones. Ones with destruction, his death, or the planet on fire. No, those hardly occupied his mind. It was a deceivingly normal reality that he had watched for much longer than he wanted to admit.
In his own reality, before he had evolved, he was a mediocre man. Sure, he was intelligent, but that was his only redeeming quality, he thought. He was weak, he wasn’t good with people like Jayce, and he didn’t know how to handle emotions.
He didn’t know how to handle you.
You, who brightened every room just by walking by. You, who offered constant support to those around you all while maintaining your own research and projects. He had no idea how to handle loving you. He had even less of an idea of how to deal with you loving him back.
You were a typical visitor in the lab. You’d always stop by with food, coffee, and sweet words. Jayce would constantly tease you, claiming he didn’t want any “lovebirds” contaminating his lab. You’d always blush and look away. He would try his best to act unphased.
He knew he was a bad person when you told him you loved him and he couldn’t respond. He had given you some half assed excuse, claiming that he “really enjoyed you but needed time.” He knew he was irredeemable when he slept with you anyways a few days later while you both were drunk after a work party, and even worse, when he left before you woke up.
And yet, you still gave him your attention. He couldn’t tell who was the owner and who was the dog. He knew he held you on a string, yet he would’ve taken any scraps you gave him.
The Viktor in his universe would’ve disgusted the man he was watching through the hex core.
The alternate Viktor, who was bringing you a plate full of warm home cooked food.
It was entirely odd, seeing his (now old) face smile so easily. He had set down the plate in front of you at the table, swiping a strand of hair away from your eyes. You smiled at him, just like you used to before. Alternate Viktor looked so bright. He had his old cane, which he hardly leaned on, rather than his crutch. He stood upright and didn’t rasp for breath. He was absent of his notorious eye bags. He just looked-
Alive. Happy. Unburdened.
And you looked beautiful. You eyes shined at him the same way they did before he half rejected your love confession. He saw you lean in and kiss him, although this was far different then the night the two of you were drunk. It was pure and slow, like you were both confident that it wouldn't be the last time.
Even though it was still himself he was watching, he felt like he was intruding. He wiped away the scene with a wave of his hand, leaving his reflection staring back at him. He felt a sense of emptiness he hadn’t felt in years. He didn’t regret leaving his life behind because he didn’t have much to leave. Not like the Viktor he just watched. He ignored the gnawing at his stomach telling him that what he saw was supposed to be his.
That life never could have been for him. If only he were different.